9.97L state voters deleted since Jan, 27K from city

MUMBAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deleted 9.97 lakh voters from the electoral roll for not being present at their registered residential addresses, owing to shifting or deaths.

In Mumbai, 27,771 and in Thane, 60,515 voters have been deleted during the summary revision conducted since January 15, 2018.

The ECI published an assembly-wise voters’ list on August 31 after the revision was held by sending booth level officers doorto-door. The revision, which is undertaken once a year, is an important step ahead of the 2019 general elections. The voters deleted will have an opportunity to register their claims and objections till October 31, 2018 in order to avoid the deletion.

“During our visit, 9.97 lakh voters have been found absent from their registered address and have been proposed to be deleted. The cities have more number of deletions

due to the high rate of migration and shifting. Generally, Mumbai suburbs record highest deletion, but this time it is Nashik, which has seen the deletion of 70,591 voters. Since the deletion has been accorded after visiting the houses, there is very little room for errors in the list displayed,” said an official from the ECI.

The state has now 8.44 crore registered voters against the number of eligible voters of 8.60 crore. “We expect around 35 lakh voters in the 18-20 age group to be registered as voters against their

existing size of 2.5 lakh. Normally, 70% of the population is eligible for voting, which means Maharashtra should have 8.60 crore registered voters. We expect youth to come forward and register themselves as voters,” said Anil Valvi, joint chief electoral officer of Maharashtra.

The ECI has also appealed to the first-time voters in the age group of 18-19 years (including the youths attaining 18 years on January 1, 2019) to register themselves. The voters can register themselves by visiting the polling stations, until October 31.